Heat Wave

Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun and I'm pretty sure that won't change anytime soon.

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The next morning, Vash woke up with the worse backache he had ever had in his life. He stood up and twisted himself with a loud cracks and pops. It could not be healthy for anyone to be as stiff as he was. After cracking his neck one last time, he made his way up the stairs to the bathroom. He noticed the door was closed and knocked.

"Just a minute." he heard Meryl's voice from inside.

Vash sighed and leaned his back against the door. He would have to apologize to her sooner or later. He really didn't feel like confronting her right away, but he needed to use the bathroom.

He slid down the cool faux-wood door, it was still so hot out and now Vash was beginning to regret throwing his red-duster into the dessert. It was heat resistant!

The lock on the door creaked, and before Vash could move from his spot, the door swung open. He fell backwards and was looking up at Meryl. From this position he got an even better glimpse of her nice, shapely legs. Beautiful.

"Um…Good morning Meryl," He made sure to say her name, he really didn't need another lump on the head. It was still too early in the morning.

She raised an eyebrow at the bumbling blonde, "Can't you go a day without tripping over yourself?" The insurance agent walked around him and began to make her way back to her bedroom to get dressed.

Vash shot from the ground and grabbed her wrist, "Meryl, wait!" She instantly stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Meryl..." he begged, "Look at me, Meryl." She slowly turned around; her face was twisted into an adorable pout.

"What?" her tone was sharp and cut through Vash like butter. "Do you want to call me a skank now, too? Or maybe even a-"

"Meryl, would you stop yelling at me for two seconds and let me apologize?" He growled and her mouth snapped shut. "Look...I'm sorry...for what I said last night and the other night. It's just..." he trailed off when he noticed that he still held her wrist. He quickly let go and remembered how interesting the floor was.

"Just what?" Meryl asked earnestly.

What Vash wanted to say was, 'Well Insurance Girl, after an all night thinking spree, I'm pretty sure I've fallen head-over-heels in love with you and I don't know how or when this actually occurred. Also, seeing you with that creep Mark really gets me in a twist, and simply, I want to punch him in the face whenever he looks at you. So much for "Love and Peace", eh?'

Instead he said, "It's just...I'm worried about you."

She seemed to also remember the interest of the floor, for her head dropped suddenly to examine it.

"I'm not a child, Vash," she said quietly and his heart dropped down to his ankles. "You don't have to worry about me."

All of Vash's logic suddenly left in that moment and he pulled her into an embrace. "I know," he whispered. "I can't help it."

He could've being holding her for a minute or maybe even an hour, it didn't matter to him. All he knew was when she pulled away from him that it was too soon.

"You're all sweaty." she said softly and began to unbutton his shirt, causing Vash to go into Panic-Mode. How did a hug go to her unbuttoning his shirt? How did everything just change in five seconds?

"W-w-wha...?" He couldn't form words, so a sentence was pretty much hopeless, and he felt his voice go up about ten octaves. After his buttons were done, she moved to the cuffs of his sleeves and rolled both up past his elbows. Looking proud of her work she glanced up at the speechless man with a smile. "You're gonna get heat stroke," she explained. "I'm buying you new shirts."

"But my-" She cut him off. Was she always this bossy, or was he just special?

"I don't want to hear about your scars." she stated firmly. "It's insane to walk around in long sleeves and pants." Meryl then turned on her heel and headed back towards her room, leaving Vash feeling very naked and confused in the hallway.

"Wait!" She stopped with her hand on the door knob and stared at him.

"Was that an 'I forgive you?' in girl language?"

Meryl rolled her eyes with a smile and made her way into her bedroom.

He took that as a yes.

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(AN: Thanks so much to all you reviewers! I send you hugs and doughnuts of love!

After staying in the mountains for more than a couple of days, I have come to a great conclusion.

Nature is very dull.

Maybe it's just because I'm here.

I'm sure there are a bunch of deer watching me with binoculars going, "Okay everyone, lets all just fall asleep and not do a thing because that girl's out here and we like to mess with her! I swear it'll be hilarious!"

Those deer are pretty crafty.

The Review button called. It says it's lonely.)